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AH020387 Posted 16 years ago
Vocabulary

Maltreated VS mistreated

What is the difference between maltreated and mistreated?
  

Top answer

There is none. 'Mal-' means 'badly' and 'mis-' means 'wrongly'.

— Mister Micawber

  • There is none.
  • 'Mal-' means 'badly' and 'mis-' means 'wrongly'.
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2 Answers
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There is none. 'Mal-' means 'badly' and 'mis-' means 'wrongly'.
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I just read in the New York Times (18 March 2014) that a high-ranking military officer who roughed up and abused his girlfriend has been forced to confess to "maltreating" her. I guess that he felt "mistreating" wouldn't sound contrite enough and, like a good American, reached for the nearest superlative. Plain old mistreat is too commonly used to, literally, pack much of a punch, so maltreat put
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